Wings of Fear and Hope
by Magic Detective
Summary: This is how it happened. This is how the Batman's legacy survived. Post-Arkham Knight, heavy spoilers. Slight AU and OCs included. Rated T for heavy language.
1. Prologue

Night time.

The hour that most criminals would go around doing bad deeds.

Which is exactly what a group of thugs were doing right now in a warehouse.

Thug 1: "I still can't believe it's been a year since the Bat bit the dust! And even now, we're still having a tough time stealing things!"

Thug 2: "I blame the new guy going around town."

Thug 3: "You mean Red Hood? Ugh. That guy gives me the creeps."

Thug 1: "What's so bad about him anyway?"

Thug 2: "Well, unlike Batman, he has guns on him. Not only that, he has no problem with killing us! I heard he was the guy that freaking killed Black Mask!"

Thug 1: "No way."

Thug 3: "Yes way. I heard he got Black Mask begging when he got his hands on him. Even asked him to say hi to Joker for him as he threw the guy out a window."

Thug 1: "Man, I would hate to face this guy. The good thing, though, is that we can steal Black Mask's stuff without anyone bothering us now."

Unknown Voice: "You really sure about that?"

The group turned around to see a figure standing above them.

Fuck.

"It's Red Hood!"

It was a short, yet futile fight. Red Hood easily picked them off one by one in mere seconds. He was about to get the cargo that was there when someone suddenly struck him from behind and knocked him out.

* * *

He woke up in an alleyway. Two guys were holding him up by the arms, another two had his guns, a couple more were looking at him, and a man was currently walking up toward him.

What the hell.

It was Black Mask.

"Didn't I already kill you?" Red Hood asked.

Sionis laughed. "You think I would die that easily like a coward? I had a body double."

...That would explain why the guy he killed easily caved in.

"Anyway, I don't appreciate people who interfere with my business. No hard feelings?" Black Mask took out a gun and aimed it at the vigilante's head.

Red Hood remained emotionless. "Do your worse."

Black Mask was ready to shoot when a voice rang out.

"Not on my watch."

Roman looked up to see a figure on the rooftops. He couldn't make out who it was, but it was definitely female.

And she had butterfly wings.

He merely laughed at her. "A butterfly? Really? Is that supposed to scare me?"

Big mistake.

The female dropped down and hit Sionis with a flying kick, knocking him to the ground, unconscious.

Red Hood looked at the newcomer. She wore a black body suit with matching colored gloves and sleek boots, the symbol of an orange butterfly on a white background emblazed on her chest. She was the height of an average woman, with caucasian skin and long black hair. A domino mask covered her eyes, which was shaped and colored like a monarch butterfly.

She smirked. "The name's Monarch. And no, I'm not supposed to scare you. I just want you to remember me."

At this point, Red Hood had knocked the guys holding him and took back his guns. From there, it was just a short fight against the rest of Black Mask's group. Pretty much easy, as Monarch showed not to judge a book by its cover. She easily took out the attackers in a flurry of punches and kicks while Red Hood went in guns blazing.

Once the fight was over, Red Hood turned to the knocked out Black Mask. He held his gun at him and was about to shoot when Monarch grabbed his gun hand.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. The cops will be coming any moment now." She told him.

He escaped her grip and dusted himself off before turning to her. "I didn't need you to do that, whoever you-"

She was already gone.

With police sirens approaching, Red Hood sighed and fled into the night.

* * *

 _Did she seriously just pull a Batman on me?_

 _Talk about annoying._

 _Just in case you're wondering, I'm the guy with the red helmet. My name is Jason Todd._

 _I used to be Robin. Yes, that Robin who was sidekick to one of the greatest superheroes of all time; the Dark Knight himself, Batman, who the world now know was billionaire Bruce Wayne._

 _That all changed one night when a certain clown whose name I will not say kidnapped me._

 _He… tortured me in ways you couldn't imagine. I kept believing that Bruce would come save me._

 _Then the clown told me that I was already replaced. And he made everyone think that I was already dead before carving a "J" onto my face._

 _Now that… was cruel._

 _I managed to escape, holding onto the last of my strength and will. Not to mention I was VERY pissed. Mostly because Bruce couldn't find me and still held onto that "no-killing" rule of his even after what the clown did to me._

 _That why I decided to join Scarecrow's campaign as the Arkham Knight. And yes, I was the Arkham Knight. The very guy who led a militia and nearly got to kill Batman._

 _So you're wondering what happened with that._

 _Long story short, Bruce still managed to beat me._

 _And during this… he told me that I was Robin. Not what the clown made me to be. That he can help me._

 _And two words I haven't expected._

" _I'm sorry."_

 _Bruce_ _ **never**_ _said sorry to me before._

 _So when he had his back turned, I left, leaving my mask behind._

 _I needed some alone time to think. Should I forgive Bruce?_

 _Who am I kidding, I should._

 _This man was practically my father._

 _Which I why helped Bruce fight against Scarecrow._

 _Then, shortly after that, the unthinkable happened._

 _Batman… died along with his faithful butler, Alfred._

 _After some mourning, I made a decision._

 _I have to protect Gotham._

 _Which is why I became Red Hood._

 _Since then, life has moved on. I got involved with my family's life again, and they're doing pretty well now. Dick married Babs, my so called "replacement" Tim took on a new identity, Gordon became mayor, and Lucius became the new owner of Wayne Tech._

 _I've been doing a good job lately, although I don't know who's this new "Monarch" girl going around the city. Whoever she is, though, I hope she knows what she's getting into. Being a hero isn't all as easy as you think. I'm living proof of it._

 _And this city needs something to truly believe in._

 _This is how it happened._

 _This is how the Batman's legacy survived._

 **Magic Detective Presents...**

 **Inspired by the Batman: Arkham series...**

 **Wings of Fear and Hope**


	2. Encounter

" _ **...And in other news, in just a few weeks, it will officially be Halloween and a year since Gotham said farewell to our hero and savior, Batman. Mayor Gordon has declared there will be a ceremony held on that day to unveil a memorial dedicated to the Dark Knight, complete with speeches made by fellow allies of Mr. Wayne. We'll have more after this break…"**_

* * *

Jack Ryder dusted himself off as he walked out of town hall. He was planning to get an interview with Gordon, but he got kicked out easily. Making a note to talk another day, he started to walk back to his place. Due to him thinking about his failed attempt, he didn't notice a woman walking in the opposite direction of him and bumped into her, causing him to drop his briefcase.

"Whoa, I'm sorry!" She apologized. "Here, let me get that for you!"

As she leaned down to pick up his briefcase, Jack took a good look at her and whistled in his mind.

" _Whoa, she's a looker."_ He thought.

She was just a little shorter than him, Caucasian, and just plain beautiful. The woman was dressed in a brown long coat on top of her white dress shirt and skirt, with a pair of black heels on her feet. She had brown and brown eyes, with a purple bow in her hair.

Not to mention nice legs and a pretty cute behind…

Once she got up, she realized who she was talking to and her eyes widened. "You're… Jack Ryder! Oh my god! I'm a huge fan of you! So sorry for running into you! I was just busy going back home, and…"

" _A fan, little shy, and a bit socially awkward, too. Nice."_

"It's alright, Miss." Jack smirked as he took back his briefcase. "Always glad to meet a fan. Say, do you mind telling me your name as I escort you home?"

The lady blushed. "Uh, Tina Nadine. Sure, you can walk me back."

Some smooth talking and a nice walk to her house later, Jack had gotten her phone number and a promise for a date.

Jack smirked as he walked away.

" _I still got it."_

* * *

As soon as Tina entered her house and put her stuff away, she went to her bookcase and moved it, revealing a hidden panel. She pressed her hand on it and a scanner activated, revealing a hidden room with tons of monitors and technology. She entered, placed a headset on her head, and sat down in front of the keyboard. Some typing later, a voice was heard on her headset.

" _Hey, Tina, you there?"_

"I'm here, Monarch. And just for the record, my code name will be 'Melody Maven' whenever you speak to me."

" _Fine. Can I call you Melody for short? Seems a bit long."_

"Sure. Why I don't get is that you named yourself after a butterfly. Why didn't you come up with something more threatening, like something after a termite?"

" _The point of my name doesn't matter. It's my theme of a butterfly. Haven't you realize how much Gotham needs something to believe in right now? I'm supposed to represent a butterfly that can fly even in our darkest hour. That might give people hope."_

"I understand. By the way, I just managed to land a date with THE Jack Ryder!"

" _Wait, really? Geez, why do you even like that guy anyway? He's a real creeper. I bet 3 bucks he was checking out your behind when you met him. And I'm 50 percent positive that the article he wrote about his encounter with Deadshot was almost completely fictional."_

"Since when do you get the option to question my love life when _you_ don't have any to speak of?"

" _...Touche, Melody. Touche."_

"Heh. Anyway, you've got any word on villains hitting the streets tonight?"

" _I've got a good one. Riddler has resurfaced. I managed to find the riddle he left for the law, but they're having a tough time decoding it… including me. Can you help me?"_

"Of course. What's the riddle?"

" _Let's see... 'My first is in chocolate but not in ham, my second's in cake and also in jam, my third at tea-time is easily found, my whole is a friend who's often around. What am I?' Any ideas?"_

"If I guess correctly, that answer is 'cat'."

" _Cat… Oh, I know! He's must be after Selina Kyle!"_

"You mean Catwoman? What's his problem with her?"

" _I heard back on that Hallow's Eve last year, Riddler kidnapped Catwoman to get Batman to fight him. Shortly after Riddler was put behind bars, she got her revenge by stealing all of his money and blowing up his robot factory."_

"Yeowch. Must've taken awhile to rebuild if it's taken that long to get revenge."

" _I think so too. Any idea where she might be now?"_

"Last I check, she's usually in the East End, but I might be wrong. She's been mostly quiet since Batman bit the dust."

" _I guess the rumors are true, then. She really did love Batman... Speaking of him, you manage to hack into the coms of Red Hood yet?"_

"Yeah. I managed to when you were busy fighting Black Mask's henchmen. Why do you want to speak to him anyway? I mean, sure, he's been working with Nightwing and Red Robin, but he doesn't seem to be a nice guy."

" _Nightwing and Red Robin are why I need to contact him. If I want to get anywhere at being a hero in Gotham, I need the support of Batman's allies. Having them on our side will be very beneficial to us. Where is he, anyway?"_

"Somewhere on Miagani Island, on the rooftops. Just be careful, okay? Something tells me won't like seeing you after your first meeting two nights ago…"

" _Got it."_

* * *

It was a short flight to Miagani Island for Monarch. Red Hood wasn't hard to find, and she easily found him. As a bonus, Nightwing and Red Robin were with him. She then flew down onto the rooftop they on, catching the trio off guard.

Red Hood looked ready to draw his guns. "What are you doing here?!"

Yep. Definitely mad about last time.

Thankfully, Nightwing was there to calm him down. He looked at Monarch.

"What do you want?"

"I want to talk to you about working with you three." She answered.

"I don't trust you!" Red Hood immediately responded.

Red Robin sighed. "Give her a chance. Let's hear her out."

The trio turned to her. Monarch took a deep breath, and started to speak.

"I know that I'm still new to this whole superhero business, but I know what I'm doing. And I know if I'm gonna do some good in the city, I need some help. And by help, I mean you guys. This city needs to know that we can still go on. And I need your support. So? Can I help?"

Thick silence. After what seemed like forever, Nightwing spoke.

"...Fine. But you're gonna have to earn our trust. Got it?"

Her face brightened up.

"Thank you! By the way, meet me at the East End. There's a villain we need to catch there, okay? And I mean all of you. Even you, Grumpy." She pointed to Red Hood at that last sentence. "See you there!"

She then flew away.

Dick and Tim snickered at Monarch's nickname for Red Hood.

Jason glared at them. "The last thing I need is a female version of you, Grayson."


	3. Nerds of Prey

An entire gang composed of robots were currently marching over to the home of Selina Kyle on the East End. Edward Nigma was piloting a large mecha bot, leading the charge. However, he wasn't the only one in the bot...

"Remind me again why I am stuck with you, in a robot, about to attack Catwoman." Jonathan Crane, aka Scarecrow, commented on his situation inside the robot.

"Well, after you managed to escape capture with Jervis here, you were still stuck with fear after Batman gave you a taste of your own medicine by sticking your needles inside you." Edward explained, not looking away from his robot's controls. "I did my best to take care of you, and once you were back in working condition, you started hiding with me. Jervis decided to help me, and now I have the ammunition to rightfully take back the money she stole from me."

Jervis Tetch, better known as the Mad Hatter, seemed confused. "Dear Dormouse, why do you have such animosity against Miss Kyle?"

"She cheated!" Riddler replied angrily. "She had no right to interfere with my battle with Batman! And then he had the nerve to go off and die without letting me know his identity!"

"You do realize that-"

Riddler interrupted Jervis before he could finish. "I refuse to believe Batman is Bruce Wayne! I am positive that's not the truth!"

"No, you're just annoyed that _I_ was the one who unmasked Batman and not you." Scarecrow deadpanned.

"Shut up, Crane!"

"Could you two please calm down?" Jervis pleaded, looking quite a bit nervous. "Anyway, speaking of Batman, I really miss him…"

Scarecrow looked at Jervis as if he grew a third head. "You _miss_ having to taste defeat and getting sent to jail?"

"I meant the thrill of it." Jervis answered. "Oh, what wonderful times in Wonderland we spent! Why did it have to end so soon?"

"I'm with Jervis on this one, Jonathan." Edward chimed in. "It's just not the same anymore with the Dark Knight gone. There's no challenge anymore. I miss my intellectual rival..."

"I doubt he looked at you that way." Scarecrow snorted.

"No. I'm sure he acknowledged me. After all, who wouldn't?"

Scarecrow sighed at that remark. "I do admit, though, it has been too quiet for my liking since Mr. Wayne died…"

"He's not Wayne, Crane!"

"When are you gonna stop being in denial and admit that I done what you failed to do?"

"I'm positive that incident at the asylum was all an elaborate trick! You and your little armored ally, Arkham Knight, conspired with Batman on it! All just to make me look like a fool!"

"...You need help, Nigma."

"I DON'T NEED HELP WITH ANYTHING!"

Jervis remained quiet as Scarecrow and Riddler continued to argue.

* * *

As the self proclaimed nerds of Gotham continued marching, Monarch had landed on top of Selina Kyle's building. She then popped her head in front of a window upside down and knocked on it.

"Hey Kitty, you there?" She asked.

It was a lucky guess, because Catwoman soon approached the window. She hadn't changed much since that Halloween night and was wearing some black pajamas.

Selina seemed confused at her visitor. "Who are you? And what are you doing here?"

"The name's Monarch. And I came here to warn you that a certain self proclaimed criminal genius you humiliated a year ago is about to get his revenge on you."

"Catwoman!"

Ah, there he was.

The female duo turned around to see Riddler's robot army, lead by his giant mech bot.

"I am going to give you a choice." Riddler's unmistakable and annoying voice called out through a speaker on the bot. "Quietly hand back the money you stole from me and I will not be forced decimate you in the most humiliating way possible."

Catwoman sighed.

"Sorry, Eddie. But no."

Riddler didn't take that comment well. "Take me seriously, you feline pilfer! And tell your butterfly friend over there to get out of here! This is between you and me!"

Monarch was unamused. "My name is Monarch, and I only just met Kitty here, Mr. Full of Himself."

"I am not that full of myself!" Riddler scowled, crossing his arms.

"Oh admit it, Nigma. You are." Crane's voice suddenly snorted on the speaker.

"Cut it out, Crane!"

Monarch was confused at this. "What you doing there, Straw Man?"

"It's Scarecrow, not Straw Man!" Jonathan answered, very unhappy with Monarch's nickname for him. "I'm only here because I escaped with Jervis after Halloween and I was still in my poisoned fear gas state. Riddler found us and he insisted on us sticking with him ever since."

"Wait, Sir Wonderland is there too?"

"It's Mad Hatter, little Butterfly." Tetch's' voice rang on the speaker. "Although I do like that nickname you have given me. Thank you!"

"You're welcome!"

"Hey, this is MY moment, everyone!" Riddler suddenly cut in, sounding more mad than ever. "Back to the subject at hand! Since you won't surrender, Catwoman, I'm gonna do this the hard way! ATTACK!"

Riddler's bot then shot a laser at the female heroes, which they quickly dodged out of the way. The army also started to march toward the building.

"...Nice upgrades. Must be really obsessed if he's gone all mad genius." Monarch commented, unfazed at the attempt on her life. "Kitty, get ready so we can kick these guys' butts. I'm gonna do some damage control."

"Got it." Catwoman went inside her bedroom to get changed.

* * *

Monarch flew inside the building and started to wake up citizens to get them to safety. It was around the time she was getting the last citizen, a young woman, when they got trapped by rubble and more started to fall on them.

"Get down!" She shouted, shielding the lady.

Suddenly, a figure appeared out of nowhere and cleared away the rubble, leaving a path clear for them. Monarch let the woman go and stepped aside

"...What the heck just happened?" She wondered out loud.

"Spoiler alert, that was me!"

Monarch looked aside and saw her savior. They were a female dressed in a light purple cloak over a gray superhero costume. The only other thing visible was her blue eyes.

"Oh, more female heroes!" Monarch said, seemingly not mad at all at the new hero. "Pleasure to meet you! Name's Monarch. What's your name?"

The newcomer smiled.

"You can call me Spoiler."

* * *

Once introductions were done, the two females ran onto the street where they saw while Monarch was busy rescuing the citizens, all of the former Robins had landed near the battle zone and started to fight the army along with Catwoman, who had gotten ready in the same timespan. Red Hood was reluctant to allow her to fight with them, but she immediately declared she'd be going to jail after all this was over.

Apparently she had lost the thrill of stealing with Batman gone.

"Well, you took your time!" Red Hood complained as they entered. "What took you so long?"

Monarch paid no attention to him as she entered the fight. "Collapsing building. I also met a new friend. You know Spoiler?"

Spoiler waved hello at them as she entered the fray.

Red Robin's eyes widened when he saw her.

"...Ain't that the girl you kissed last week?" Red Hood asked him as he shot a robot to pieces.

Red Robin blushed. "...No comment."

"Never knew you found a girl, Birdie." Monarch commented (which Red Robin didn't appreciate because of the nickname) as she kicked a bot that was about to attack Nightwing. "Be careful, Baton Boy. You should be aware of your surroundings."

Red Hood let out a snicker at Grayson's nickname.

"...They're called escrima sticks." Nightwing corrected, deadpanning.

Catwoman suddenly started to pant heavily. "Not to complain, but don't you think this is taking too long? Anyone have a plan to take down Eddie for good?"

"...I have an idea." Monarch had a devilish smirk on her face. "Hey, Riddler!"

Monarch then turned to Riddler and blew a raspberry at him.

The reaction was… quite expected.

Riddler prepared to launch another laser at her, but to his surprise, she jumped at least 50 feet into the air and out of the way.

"In case you're wondering how I did that, I have the powers of insects." She explained as she grew her wings and flew up to the top of the mech bot. "Like the jumping power of a praying mantis or the ability to grow wings like a butterfly."

Riddler started to grab, but she caught the mech bot's arm with her bare hands.

"...Not to mention the strength of an ant!"

With a single pull, Monarch tore the arm off and started swinging at the bot with the arm.

"Why you hitting yourself? Why you hitting yourself?" She taunted.

"Would you stop insulting me, you bothersome butterfly?!" Riddler said.

Catwoman snorted. "This is coming from the guy who once said he'd be mating Batman…"

"...You said what?" Scarecrow asked.

"I MEANT CHESS!" Riddler retorted, face bright red.

"...Oh, like in checkmate." Mad Hatter realized. "Still doesn't make your situation any better, though."

"That's it! You have crossed the line, Miss! DIE!"

Riddler was now very pissed and started to attack blindly in a fit of rage. Little did Riddler know, that was Monarch's plan all along as the weapons became easily exposed to take out. The heroes were able to take them all out easily before there was nothing left but the three nerds of Gotham in a malfunctioning mech bot.

Riddler remained silent for a moment before speaking. "...I didn't see that coming."

"...For someone so smart, you're a idiot, Nigma." Scarecrow facepalmed.

"I agree." Jervis sighed.

Riddler felt betrayed at that remark. "You too, Jervis?! Be quiet!"

"Should we take them out now?" Spoiler asked.

"Uh, yeah." Monarch answered. "Hey, Kitty, would you do the honors?"

Selina smirked. "Gladly."

Catwoman climbed onto the bot and ripped it open, breaking the software in the process that caused the rest of the robot army to shut down. She then took each of the villains inside one by one and threw them onto ground, letting the sidekicks knock them all out.

* * *

"...Was it really necessary to duct tape Riddler's mouth?" Nightwing asked Monarch as the villains were being taken away by the police and placed in a van.

"I figured since Kitty is going to jail, she might as well get there without listening to Mr. Full of Himself rant on the way." She answered boredly.

"...Hm, good point."

Catwoman looked out to Monarch and smiled. "Thanks. I'll spread the word about you."

"Bye, little butterfly! I can't wait to play you again!" Mad Hatter waved at her.

Riddler continued to let out muffled screams in protest even with the tape over his mouth.

Scarecrow groaned as he placed his hands over his ears.

"...This is gonna be a long ride." He muttered.

* * *

Some time later, the heroes were back out on the rooftops, having a chat.

"Okay, you definitely have some spunk back there," Nightwing said. "But you two are still a long way from earning our trust. Just who are you two?"

The two remained silent for a moment before removing their masks, revealing their faces.

"...Stephanie Brown."

"...Kayla Belleve."


	4. New Arkham

Shortly after Mayor Gordon was inducted into office, one of his first priorities was to get proper facilities for criminals. After Blackgate was restored, New Arkham was created for all of Batman's rogues and the truly insane. It was built somewhere in the ruins of Arkham City, as a reminder of what happened.

And that was where our four criminals were heading now.

After what seemed like hours for poor Crane, the crooks finally landed at the front of New Arkham. There, waiting for them, was one very familiar face to the ones that were stuck in Arkham Asylum.

Aaron Cash.

Jonathan looked nonchalantly at him. "What are you doing here, Officer Cash? I thought you would be behind a desk at GCPD, doing paperwork."

"It's _Warden_ Cash, now, Crane." Cash answered, staring at him in the eye. "When New Arkham was first created, the head doctor around here asked me personally to work here. She went over my profile and saw how I was probably one of the only good guards back in the Asylum. Thought I would be the best man for the role."

"Oh, isn't that nice?" Mad Hatter mentioned.

"Mad Hatter. It's been a while. Welcome to New Arkham. As to you, Scarecrow and Catwoman." Cash greeted the criminals before turning to the still duct-taped Riddler. "And last but certainly not least, Riddler, who has just got karma seriously handed to him."

Riddler tried to say something that sounded like "Shut up, Cash", but he couldn't say it properly due to the tape on his mouth and sounded muffled.

Cash raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What's with the tape?"

"Monarch did that. She thought since I was going to jail, I might as well do that with some peace and quiet for once." Catwoman answered.

"You mean that butterfly hero? She's been the talk of the asylum ever since she kicked Black Mask's ass two nights ago. She's gained quite a following. Hold still Eddie, I'll get that off."

Cash then started to pull off the tape on Eddie's mouth. It was clear that the warden had it in for Eddie after being held captive back in Arkham City, because Cash pulled as hard as possible, making Riddler screamed in pain as the tape went off, leaving a red mark around his mouth.

"Now, riddle me this, Nigma," Cash smirked at poor Eddie. "What's green, stupid, and about to be in here for a _long_ time?"

Riddler slumped in defeat.

"...Shut up, Cash."

* * *

After the usual routine for criminal admittance, Scarecrow was placed in a cell that was thankfully nowhere near Edward Nigma's. The prison cells were divided on how much you're willing to work with the Arkham Staff, and since Crane was nothing but peaceful this time around (he was too much tired from his day with Nigma to be struggling like usual), he was placed in the block where most of the criminals were not blood thirsty.

By the time the next day arrived, lunch time had approached and Jonathan was making his way through cafeteria to eat. Thankfully, unlike the Asylum, the food here was actually pretty edible and you can tell what it was.

After picking up his food, Jonathan began to look for a table to eat at. Along the way, he saw Eddie sitting in the corner with Jervis, the former moping as the Mad Hatter tried to comfort him. Crane smirked. The news of last night's fiasco had spread like wildfire and Eddie was now the laughingstock of New Arkham. Yes, this would be going on for a while.

Crane passed a few more tables when he saw one in particular that caught his eye.

The only person there was none other than Harleen Quinzel, aka Harley Quinn. She was eating quietly next to a potted rose. His mind made up, he walked over to Harley's table and sat down there to eat with her.

Harley looked up when Crane sat at the table and her face brightened up. "Hi, Professor Crane!"

"Hello, dear child. Tell me, why are you sitting here alone?"

"I just wanted to have some peace and quiet for once. And I'm not eating alone. I have Red growing over her with me." Harley gestured to the rose she was eating next to.

Scarecrow scoffed. "You mean Miss Isley? That can't be possible."

Harley's rose suddenly grew thorns and growled at Jonathan.

"...Okay, so maybe it is possible." He noted, instinctively scooting his chair away from the table.

"Cut it out, Red!" Harley scowled at the flower and shook it a bit. "Don't scare him away! I know you don't like Professor Crane, but at least treat him with respect!"

Rose Ivy complied and calmed down.

Harley sighed in relief. "Sorry about that, Professor. Red does that whenever she sees someone she doesn't like."

"...I could tell."

"So, what do you think about New Arkham so far?"

"Well, for starters, I appreciate the food actually looks edible."

"Yeah, I know. The head therapist, Dr. Belleve, wanted to make this place more hospitable for folks like us, and she insisted on better food for everyone. You're gonna enjoy meeting the doctor, she's really great."

"I wouldn't be sure. From my experience, none of the therapists at Arkham are good."

Another voice chimed in. "Oh, really, Crane? I beg to differ."

And speak of the devil, there she was, approaching them now.

Dr. Belleve was a caucasian of average height for her gender. She had long black hair and dark red glasses, which matched the color of her flat shoes. Topping it off, she wore her doctor's coat over a dark blue dress shirt and skirt.

She had a small smile on her face. "My full name is Dr. Kayla Belleve, head therapist of New Arkham. Dr. Crane, I presume?"

"Indeed. Tell me, how are you, today?"

"I know that trick, Dr. Crane; I've listened to the patient tapes, and just so you know, it won't work on me. I'm doing quite fine, thank you very much for asking. And I believe you're wrong. I am quite a capable doctor."

"I don't believe that."

"Believe it, Professor Crane!" Harley stated. "She's a favorite among all the patients at New Arkham, even the ones who hate doctors! She even pretty much cured Two-Face!"

Scarecrow raised an eyebrow at that. "You mean Mr. Dent? I've heard that he's been catatonic ever since the Bat died in that fire last year. He's supposed to be unable to even talk to."

"I'll let you know, I've made good process with him." Kayla explained. "It took a while, but I think I managed to make him realize he shouldn't be relying on his coin or Big Bad Harv anymore. I believe ever since that accident in the courtroom, he's been scared to make his own decisions so he relies on something else to make them for him. I've gotten through to him, and he's preparing to walk out of here, completely sane. He's even asked to have surgery to fixed his face."

Jonathan looked at the doctor before smirking. "I have to say, that is impressive. I'll give you the benefit of doubt before I judge you. At least you are more respectable than that butterfly girl that humiliated Nigma last night."

"I'll take that as a compliment. And I'm looking forward to my first session with you, Dr. Crane. I'll leave you and Miss Quinzel to your meal. Farewell."

Kayla walked away, smirking at that last statement about Monarch.


	5. Two of a Kind

_**Special shout out to akoslows who created the new original character introduced in this chapter! Nice hearing your ideas and hope you enjoy this!**_

* * *

 _I curse my luck sometimes._

 _Two weeks._

 _Two weeks since the surgery._

 _And I still haven't taken off the bandages._

 _My name is Harvey Dent. You probably know me as Two-Face. Or maybe you prefer to calling me the fallen White Knight of Gotham. Any would do. I won't mind._

 _You're probably already know what happened to me, so I'll just skip ahead to what I've been doing over the past year. To be completely honest, I was a mess. Ever since I learned Bruce was the Bat, I was catatonic. Then New Arkham opened up and I was introduced to Dr. Belleve._

 _I'm grateful for the woman. She had enough patience to listen to me and she wasn't scared at all. She helped me realized I was scared. Scared to make my decisions that I let something else to make those decisions for me._

 _She told me I should take control of my life._

 _Now Big Bad Harv is gone, the coin is with Dr. Belleve, I'm mostly sane, and I've gotten surgery to reconstruct my face._

 _And yet, here I was, kidnapped and tied up, with the bandages still on my face._

 _I know why they're still on._

 _I used to think that maybe this city had a chance to saved._

 _Now… I'm wondering if that was even a chance at all._

* * *

" _ **You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the bad guy." - Harvey Dent**_

Kidnapped and taken to unknown place. Hands and limbs tied down to a chair. Gasoline surrounding the chair.

Yep. Harvey Dent probably had the worst luck ever.

He squinted his eyes to see if he could make out his kidnapper. It was dark and he couldn't make it out completely, but he could see the person was smoking a cigar in one hand and twirling a gun in another.

"...Why are you doing this?" Harvey asked his kidnapper.

The voice that replied was a male, their voice dark and menacing.

"I hate criminals like you. I'm your only cure. Go to hell, Two-Face."

The figure then threw his cigarette to the gasoline.

Harvey closed his eyes. Deep inside, he knew this would happen.

 _Heroes don't last long in the city. Not even the fallen ones._

What he didn't expect was for someone to come out of nowhere and take him to safety, still tied to the chair.

Once Harvey realized he wasn't being burned alive, he opened his eyes to see he was in a street corner and that his savior was none other than Monarch, currently untying him from the chair.

When she saw the bandages and reached for them to take them off, Harvey immediately stopped her.

"No. Don't take them off."

",,,Okay, then. You okay, Mr. Dent?"

"I'm a little shaken, but I'm fine. You're that Monarch girl the town's been talking about, aren't you?"

"Yes, and pleasure to meet you. Stay here while I take care of the guy who nearly burned you alive."

* * *

Monarch quickly flew back onto the rooftop of the kidnapper's hideout. She had heard about Mr. Dent's kidnapping from Melody Maven and went straight to action to rescue the former district attorney. Now that Harvey was safe, it was time to deal with the kidnapper.

"What the hell was that for?!"

Oh, there he was.

The kidnapper entered onto the roof, and this time, Monarch could make out who it was. The man was bald with a medium muscle build and black eyes. His outfit was entirely black, consisting of a military trench coat with pants, a pair of biker boots, a pair of leather gloves, a belt with two gun holsters and a few ammo pouches, and a mask that covered his entire face except for his eyes. A gunslinger hat was on his head, and a sash of bullets was worn across his chest.

And at the moment, he was pointing two .357 Magnum Revolvers at her.

Monarch remembered what Melody Maven told her earlier about the kidnapper.

" _There's been talk in the criminal underworld that there's this guy that's been killing all former members of the old Gotham mobs… they said anyone who gets in his way is killed… they call him the 'Gunslinger'."_

Gunslinger… well, that's very appropriate, considering the attire.

"You tell me, Cowboy!" Monarch said to Gunslinger. "Why did you kidnap Dent, anyway?"

"He's just like everyone in this town. It's broken and filled with creeps! The Bat's gone, the only person around here that can clean this city up is me!"

"Just because he's gone, doesn't mean this city is gonna die! There's still heroes in this city!"

"There are no more heroes!"

Gunslinger made the first move. He instantly shot at Monarch, and she dodged.

"Short tempered, I see. Listen, buddy, If you want to get to Harvey, you have to go through me!"

No answer. Just more gunshots.

* * *

It was ten minutes since the fight started and already Monarch was feeling exhausted. So far, it's been a game of cat and mouse where she was the mouse. She's only been able to dodge Gunslinger's bullets and she couldn't find this guy when she had the chance to attack.

As she was recovering behind some vents, her communications rang. A little grumpy at the timing, she answered.

"This is a pretty bad time to call me, Melody! I'm in the middle of fighting one very mad cowboy!"

" _A cowboy? In Gotham? Now that's new."_

Wait.

That voice wasn't Tina at all.

"Hey, who the heck are you?!"

" _You can call me Oracle, Ms. Belleve. I'm an associate of Nightwing."_

"So you're their mission control? But how and why are you calling me at a time like this?"

" _I'm a gifted hacker. It was quite easy to track you down, actually. As for why, since you're gonna be an ally of the Batfamily, I needed to link to your communications."_

"Well.. that's useful. I'm glad you trust me and all, but you have terrible timing! This cowboy's been shooting at me and I haven't been able to attack him at all!"

" _Maybe I can help with that. You're near the new theater that's being built, right?"_

"I… think so. Why?"

" _I should be able to hack the outer spotlight system from there. Just lure the bad guy over here and I'll blind him. Got it?"_

"Yes. This better work…"

Monarch got out from her cover. Once she saw Gunslinger, she got his attention.

"Hey, cowboy!"

He swung his head toward her and growled. He shot at her again. This time, she dodged him while standing still. Now visibly pissed, he simply ran up and grabbed the woman by the throat with his right hand. Even then, she was calm.

"Any last words before I squash you, insect." He asked her, using his left hand to place a gun on her forehead.

She smirked. "Checkmate. NOW!"

The lights flashed on. Gunslinger stepped back, covering his eyes. Monarch took the opportunity and began laying a good old smackdown at him before knocking him out cold with a good old kick to the head.

Kayla dusted her hands off as Oracle called back.

" _So, did it work?"_

"Yes. The cowboy has been disposed of, so get the cops down here. Harvey's safe."

* * *

When the police arrived and Gunslinger was being taken care of, Monarch made her way to the street corner where she had left Harvey. He was looking down at a puddle of water.

He swore he could see his fully scarred face in the reflection.

She touched his shoulder with her left hand. He didn't react at all to that.

"...I know you're probably scared to see what you look like now." Monarch told him. "But remember: those scars we have are proof that we can survive whatever crisis we face. And you can make it through this too. And don't worry, I won't be revolted at what you look you like."

Harvey stayed silent as Monarch reached out to his bandages with her right hand. Unlike last time, he didn't stop her and let her take them off. Once the bandages were all off, Harvey raised his head to look at her.

"...What do I look like?" He asked.

She smiled and raised a hand to touch his face.

"Both good sides match."

* * *

Mayor James Gordon climbed up the stairs to the roof of GCPD HQ. He's been trying to write a speech for the memorial and he's been having a heavy case of writer's block. Near his wit's end, he decided to take a break by going to the spot he's always called Batman with. When he reached there, though, he saw a very peculiar sight.

Harvey Dent, back to his unscarred self, sitting on the railing next to the now broken Bat-Signal, with a few drinks beside him on the floor.

Harvey remained calm when he noticed Gordon and casually took a sip of his bottle. "What are you doing here?"

"I needed some fresh air. I have a speech to write for the memorial and I still haven't made any good progress on it." Gordon explained as he approached Dent.

"You never were the kind guy who gives speeches, right? Figures. You can have a bottle, if you want to."

Gordon took the offer and grabbed one of the drinks before popping it open.

"Thanks. Now, what are you doing here?"

"I wanted some time to think. About…Bruce."

"...We all miss him, Dent. Believe me, I do too. That man was the reason I was able to believe that maybe this city can survive and become something better. I just wish I had the chance to say thank you to him."

"There are a million things I want to say to Bruce too. If I knew who Batman really was before that night, I would've apologize to him in a heartbeat."

"You know, I already knew who Batman was before that night."

"...You did?"

"I wasn't Commissioner for nothing, Dent. I figured who he was before… the Asylum incident."

"Heh. You always were a clever one. You remember that vow we made with Bruce to save Gotham?"

"Yeah, why?"

"How about we make a new vow here and now?" Harvey held out his drink to Gordon. "To make sure this city can live without him?"

Gordon remained silent for a moment before he smiled.

"Gladly. For Gotham."

He clinked bottles with Dent.

"For Bruce Wayne." Harvey smirked back.

Above them, a single bat flew toward the full moon in the sky.


End file.
